Katniss, broken
by MiaMellark0PeetaHG
Summary: Set during the Quarter Quell, the allies hatch a plan to get off of the island...a plan that spirals out of control. Very tragic, DO NOT READ if you hate crying! The actors in the movie Catching Fire are the faces of the characters. I own nothing, the amazing Suzanne Collins owns all.
1. Chapter 1

We've only been in here for 48 hours, and already over three quarters of the tributes are dead. Finnick is still striken from Mags dying in that cloud of poisonous fog, and the monkey attack straight after didn't help much. After we found Johanna and district 3, we decided to head to the cornucopia, which is where we are now. The careers are sure to come at any moment; most likely at night. Judging by the sun in the sky its about 8pm.  
"Katniss!" someone calls from behind me. I turn around to see Wiress huddled on the floor, with Beetee trying to coax her out of her stupor. Peeta and Johanna stand around them, looking worried and mumbling to each other. Peeta ushers me over with a wave of his hand. I jog over the rocky surface and grab his arm lightly.  
"Whats going on?"  
"Nuts is having one of her freaky phases. She's been on the floor, mumbling and-"  
"Tick tock! Tick tock!" Wiress interrupts Johanna.  
"-screaming. I don't know what the hell is wrong with her."  
Beetee has his arm around her and is trying to get her to stand up, but she is so tense not even a crane could lift her up.  
Beetee suddenly lifts his head up, his eyes full of worry.  
"We'd better stay put tonight. She won't make it past the treeline."  
"But the careers are almost guaranteed to attack us if we set up camp here. I mean…everyone wants to be at the cornucopia, especially the careers."  
"He's right Katniss. And Finnick isn't looking too good either." Peeta says pointing to the edge of the island. Finnick is swishing his feet in the water and stabbing at is with his trident.  
"If they do attack, we'll be ready. I mean there is 6 of us and only four of them." Johanna says.  
"You never know. They could have teamed up with another district, like 10."  
Johanna laughs at this. "Yeah, right. The possibility of the careers teaming up with an outline district is about as much as me sleeping with Snow."  
Eugh. Did she just say that? All of our heads turn slowly to look at her.  
"What?" Peeta says. Johanna shrugs and rolls her eyes. "Can we just set up camp?" She walks over to the mouth of the cornucopia and begins clearing space.

I turn to Peeta and rest my head on his shoulder.  
"I'll take the first watch." He says and kisses my forehead.  
"Okay. I'll try and get Finnick to come around." I walk over to the edge of the rocky island and carefully sit down next to Finnick, holding my stomach whilst doing so, because I don't want to 'squash' the baby. I keep forgetting I'm meant to be pregnant.  
Finnick doesn't look at me or even blink. His eyes are on the fish swarming around in the water below us. His feet are bare and brushing the top of the wetness. "You know, I never knew about fishing until I trained for these games. Mags and I made fish hooks and she tried to explain to me how to use them." Nothing. Maybe I should steer clear of Mags relate topics. "I mean, I used to think all you did was throw a stick in the water and hope to stab something." Still, nothing. His expression unchanged, it's as if he doesn't know I'm here.  
"But I was wrong, of course. There's a whole art to fishing, that I never knew about. Just like there is to hunting, and cooking. You seem to have it all figured out. They're sort of necessities; unlike singing or playing cards which are privileges. We need them to survive. Swimming a a privilege. I know how to because of the lake in the forest where my dad used to take me on the weekends-"  
"Do you ever wonder what life would have been like billions upon billions of years ago?" He suddenly says, making me jump a little. "I don't mean the fair, land of freedom before panem, where people had human rights, but way before then. When all humans had to live for was food and sex. God, how simple life must have been." I've never really thought of it before. We learnt in history class that before Panem was created, there used to be a whole world, filed with different continents, where many different people ruled and regulated. They had human rights and were treated fairly. And you were allowed to travel from country to country. Of course there are no records kept about those different countries and they do not teach about them, but that doesn't mean they didn't used to be there. Millions of people, dotted all over the world. You could travel from one end to the other, and see everything from snow mountains to jungle. I've seen the jungle, though. I'm in an artificial mutated one right now. That thought snaps me out of my reverie  
"Yeah, you could travel from one end to the other." I say.  
He turns and looks at me for the first time.  
"What are you talking about?" He says.  
"Urm...the counties."  
"What countries?"  
"We were talking about the world."  
"Billions of years ago." His expression is full of confusion.  
"Yes, when there were lots of countries."  
"But I'm talking about the people."  
"Well, I'm talking about the countries."  
"Why are you talking about the countries?"  
"Because you were talking about the old world!"  
"The people in the old world!"  
"No, the countries in the old world."  
"No, I'm talking about the people."  
"Yes, you are talking about the people, I'm talking about the countries!"  
"Why are you talking about the god damn countries?!"  
"Because you were talking about the old world!"  
"Yes! The people in the old world!"  
"Well you were talking about the people in the old world, so I started thinking about the other countries and I thought you were talking about the countries in the old world, which is why I started talking about the countries while you were talking about the people! God!"  
"Oh. Sorry."  
I laugh lightly at our complete incompetence. "No worries." And then we go back to the land of silence, where all people cared about was food and sex, and you could travel from country to country and meet millions of different, free people.

"We've got the first watch." Johanna says putting her hand on my shoulder from behind, which makes me jump, almost off the ground with surprise. I push myself up and tap Finnick.  
"I'll be there in a sec." He says, still staring out at the water. "Okay. Be careful." I say.  
"Hurry up, brainless." Johanna says to me, shoving a bow into my chest. I wrap my fingers around it and hurry behind her to the mouth of the cornucopia, where I lower myself onto the dry sand and lean my head against the cool surface of the treasure trove. The sky is getting darker. The bright pink is starting to fade to a soft, dark blue.

Before I know it, it's morning, and the brightness of the day is creating a pinky glow behind my closed eyelids. I slowly roll them open to find the only one awake is Johanna.  
I sit up straight and ruffle my hair a bit to get the sand out.  
"Did I fall asleep for long?"  
She laughs. "Yeah. As soon as your ass met the sand your eyes were shut. You must have been pretty fucking tired to sleep through that cicada symphony, being out in the open where everything is 50x louder than it is in there." She says, jerking her thumb towards the cornucopia.  
"I doubt they're cicadas. Probably some giant killer cricket mutts."  
I peer in to see Peeta lying on his side, sleeping still. He looks so innocent and young in his dream state.  
"So you stayed up all night, by yourself?"  
Her head shakes from side to side. "No. Peeta wanted to take the first watch anyway, so I let him sit with a passed out you. Fun. If you were awake you two could have had some fun, while the rest of us were sleeping." She raises her eyebrows at me. Of course, she doesn't think I'm a virgin. "Let the tide wash away the wet sand you leave." She exclaims and laughs at her own sexual joke.  
"Anyway, why didn't you wake me?" I ask. She sighs and stretches out her arms above her head.  
"No need. If the careers or anyone/ thing attacked I would have woken you. I wasn't tired either."  
Suddenly there's a loud clang sound, and my instincts get me up on my feet with my bow an arrows at the ready.  
"Calm it Katniss. That was just a bird."  
"I turn to her in disbelief. "A bird?"  
"Yeah, they've been chattering all night. I'm surprised that didn't wake you either." I turn back to look at the direction of the noise, and slowly lower my bow as I realise she's right. A bright red and blue striped flamingo looking bird stalks across the rocky surface and dives in the water, beak first, making that same clang noise.  
"Okay. But I want to get off of this island asap." I say. "Shall we wake the others?"  
Johanna slowly get up to her feet, with what looks like a lot of effort. She nearly trips over nothing as she rises. "Yeah. Who has the joy in waking up nuts? She'll be hiding after her revelation last night."  
"What?" I turn to her in confusion. "What revelation?"  
Johanna puts her hand on my shoulder and shakes me a little. "She figured it all out. The arena structure, the bell tolling, the sections, everything. It's a clock." She says, then explains to me absolutely everything Wiress told her and Peeta last night.


	2. Chapter 2

The rain pouring down is making it hard to see out of the cornucopia. Were all huddling in here, hatching a plan, to claim the beach before the careers could, after we all discussed the clock theory Wiress knew about from the beginning. It all made so much sense. We now know where to avoid and how to manoeuvre our way around this arena, and as a plus, Wiress has stopped 'tick-tocking.' Although she is still not back to normal; she now sits at the edge of the rocky island, flicking stones around singing some song about and old clock and a mouse. It is obviously a children's song.

"So, what's our next move?" I say.

Beetee has drawn a mini map of the arena in the sand. "We head for the beach, near the fog section, because we know that will only strike at 10pm." We all nod in agreement. Finnick is the first to extend his legs from his squatting position. "Shall we?" He chimes and we all follow.

I grab Peeta's arm and scurry to get my bow and arrow, whilst he picks up his sword. The look on his face is so focused, so stern, it creates butterflies in my stomach. A single crease on his forehead highlights this perfectly.

"What?" He says, straightening up his back and smiling, his expression changing completely. I realise I'm staring at him, and dart m eyes away. "Nothing! Just...waiting." I lie and can feel myself blush. He strides over to me slowly, puts his sword free hand around my waist an pulls me in for a long kiss. I can taste the rain in his mouth and on the tip of his tongue. He's so warm, and the heat he's giving off radiates through him and into my body, increasing the movement of the butterflies. They get faster as I feel his muscles tense under his wetsuit. Right now, I wish it was just the two of us, alone. Mainly so we could talk things over as I still don't know how I feel about him. My hands slide up into his wet hair, which makes me sigh with pleasure. I can hear Johanna groan and say, "Get a room you saps. You make me sick. And jealous."

Johanna Mason, the most cocky and confident woman I've ever met who sleeps with the most beautiful men in Panem on a daily basis is jealous of Peeta and I? Yeah right.

We pull apart slowly. "Let's go." I say and take his hand.

"I want to take this jumpsuit off." He says. "I already took mine off. As soon as it started raining I thought, it's just as good as a shower if I'm semi-naked." This makes him laugh.

"Oh! I need to go get it. You get out of the rain and I'll meet you back at camp." He kisses my hand and I walk over to where I left it. Or at least where I thought I left it: on the box of knives behind the mallet rack. But it's not there? I circle the inside of the cornucopia, and can't find it. I them try the outside: nothing. "Where the hell did I put it?" I groan to myself. It's not a necessity, but I want it just incase. It would be a waste to forget about it.

Suddenly, a glint of dark silver material by the end tail of the cornucopia catches my eye. I jog over and bend down to examine it. "I've found it! I exclaim to no one in particular. I clench the material in my fist and pull it off of the ground. Except it doesn't move. I stand up and push against my feet to try and get it, but it's stuck on something. What else is there to be stuck on other than sand? I pull again and again. It must be something from the cornucopia under the surface. Both my hands are now pulling on my jumpsuit, but nothing. I decide to try one last time, and then give up. I tug as hard as I possibly can, and fall backwards to the ground, with a fistful if material in my grasp. A miniature avalanche begins from where my wetsuit is, and I stare in amazement as Enobaria rises from the mound of sand with nothing but a tube for air between her lips. I scramble back on all fours and a strangled scream escapes my mouth as enobaria descends on me, teeth snarled back and ready to rip my throat. I reach for my bow, but I left it with Peeta. I scramble back again, almost falling into the water below, but instead watch as Beetee throws himself between Enobaria and I. Her teeth sink into his neck and little splutters of blood exploded from either side where she bites his.

"No!" I scream and run to grab my bow. I swing the sheaf over my shoulder and fire and arrow at her heart. It hits her and she pummels to the ground, on top of Beetee. The sound of two cannon fires echos through the arena. "Beetee!" I exclaim again and run over to where he lays. I shove Enobaria off of him and lift him up with one arm. His eyes are wide open, unblinking. Just to make sure, in check the pulse by his wrist and then from his heart. Nothing. That means he's dead. His neck has lots of small but deep dents in them which are seeping blood. A little bubble even boils in one of them, and pops before it gets too big, because of the constant flow.

"Katniss look out!" Someone yells from behind me. I swivel around to see Brutus, dagger in hand, charging towards me at full speed. Before he gets close I tumble roll forward and crawl on all fours for a minute, then get up on my feet and run away from him. The dagger whistles through the air, so I throw myself on the floor and spread out like a starfish; as low to the ground as I can get. It doesn't hit me. Instead, I look up to find it has pierced Johanna in the heart. She falls, and Finnick gets behind her just in time to catch her in his arms. "Johanna, no!" He screams, laying her down gently on the ground. Meanwhile, I get up and shoot for Brutus. He is running this way again but this time, weaponless. I aim straight for his heart but miss. Again I try for his head, but I only hits his bicep. I'm down to my third last arrow. Carefully but quickly, as he is approaching with increasing speed and although he is unarmed he could probably snap me in half with his little finger, I aim my last arrow at his head. I release just as he is about to grab me an it pierces his neck and buries deep. He falls and as his legs are so close to mine, they slam side on into me, which makes me fall right into a painful sitting position. Wincing, I get up and head for Johanna and Finnick, leaving Brutus to die from loss of blood. As I approach I know things are not looking up. Johanna is having a coughing fit in Finnicks lap, whose tears are noticeable from a mile away. Her hands tremble as he wraps his fingers around hers. "Your okay, your okay." He consoles her but it's clear she is not okay. "Johanna?" I say, kneeling down next to her. I stroke her cropped hair gently. "Johanna, I know we haven't always seen eye to eye-"

"Oh...you cou-could say that...a-again." She stammers.

"I know we haven't always seen eye to eye, but listen to me. You are the strongest girl I have ever met, so hang in there." She starts heaving with every breath, but smiles weakly at me. "And I want thank you so much for that." Her eye lids begin to droop and grow heavy. "Thank you, Katniss." She says and I feel a splatter of something warm on my check. I look around to see Gloss has slit Wiresses throat. "No!" I scream and get up, ready to shoot him. But before I get a chance, Finnick with Johanna in one hand and his trident in the other, throws the trident with such speed and force at Gloss, who stammers backwards as it sinks itself into his chest. He looks sternly at me, before falling backward into the water. Finnick sits back down and pills Johannas head into his lap, soothing her into darkness. Suddenly, I'm reminded of Peeta. In all of the commotion I forgot to look out for him. "Peeta!" I yell, and happily, am responded to with a, "I'm here Katniss!" I see him now, standing by Cashmeres dead body. Her flowing blonde hair seems to have been dip dyes in blood. I begin my way over to Peeta when all of a sudden, the ground beneath our feet shifts sideways with a jolt that knocks me backwards to the floor. I start to feel the pressure of wind hitting me and look up to see the cornucopia is spinning. No, wait...the land around the cornucopia that we are on is spinning. It starts slowly, but within a few seconds reaches an extremely high velocity that causes the images around me to blur into one and the other tributes and I to tumble nearly into the water. A sword comes flying at me so I duck low to the ground, which makes me loose my grip and I roll backwards to the edge of the rocks. I manage to get my hand in a groove before I fly off of the edge. Suddenly, a bloody Johanna tumbles next to me, hanging onto the end of an ax which she digs into the rocks. She is clearly weak and her grip is slipping.

"Johanna! Grab my hand!" I yell above the ruckus of splashing waves and rushing wind.

"I can't hold on anymore!" She yells to me. Her eyes fill with tears as her hand slides lower down the handle, until her fingertips are barely gripping it. "Don't let go!" I scream, but as a big metal box comes crashing into her face, her fingers uncurl and she is thrown into the frothy water. I look up to see where the metal box came from and to avoid any others, and am greeted with a wave of falling weapons. A tray of knives comes hurdling towards me. I manage to dodge them but as another metal box comes my way and hits me in the chest, I let go of the rocks and go flying off of the cornucopia into the water.


	3. Chapter 3

I can't breath. My body is spinning around an around and I'm so disoriented that I can't tell whether I'm in the water or out. I'm guessing in because every time I try to breath or scream my lungs full up with water and I start coughing. After about three minutes of this, I feel myself fall still. Quickly, I swim upwards and break the surface with a massive breath in. My eyes open to see a hazy world that slowly clears as I swim to solid ground. I hang onto the rocks. I cough and splutter everywhere as I try to clear the water from me and catch my breath. I haul myself up onto the island and vomit over the edge into the water. The acidic substance burns my throat as it comes out of me and splashes into the water, giving that section an orangey brown tint. After I finish hacking, I sit there for a few moments to catch my breath. The jungle is very calm, no movement other than a slight breeze in the air. The rain has stopped. I look around the pinky sky and notice something: it's quiet. Very quiet. Not a whisper on the wind or a chirp or croak from any one or thing. My head spins around to face the cornucopia. There is no one. Not one out of the 10 people who were battling to the death a few minutes ago, can be seen. I carefully get up on my feet, making sure I don't fall backwards into the water again, and start to walk towards the cornucopia. The silence is deafening. "Hello?" I call out. "Peeta?" As I reach the mouth of the cornucopia, I see my bow and sheath slung securely around a white box. I grab them and Stan there for a moment, a little freaked out that there is no one around. "Peeta!" I yell again begin to walk away from the cornucopia. "Peeta!"

"Katniss!" My ears pick up his voice from behind the cornucopia. I run around it to find him hauling himself out of the water and on to the rocky surface. Relief rushes through me and I walk over to him. "Where are the others?" He yells to me, panting heavily. I shrug. "I haven't seen anyone since the cornucopia started to spin." I say.

"I saw someone stab Finnick. I don't know if we'll see him again. But keep a look out for the others."

I stop in my tracks. Finnick stabbed...he's probably dead. Johanna was in her last legs...she's probably dead. Beetee died in my arms and Wiress dies in his. I killed Enobaria and injured Brutus. Peeta killed Cashmere and Finnick killed Gloss. That leaves a few randoms from 10, 8 and 6. Have we almost won? Peeta and I are amongst the last alive...can we actually win this together? I don't know about that, but I can keep him safe. This time, I'll make sure I go before he does. He won't be happy about that, but the thought of him surviving brings a smile to my face. As I look at him now, in his dreamy state, looking around at this fake world we are in I can't help but smile.

Suddenly, a figure comes hurtling towards Peeta silently from behind. As it gets closer, I see that it is Gloss, smeared in blood with a dagger in his hand. He's about two meters away from Peeta who's unarmed and unaware. I open my mouth and scream.

"Peeta watch out!" I yell to him and position my bow and arrow, ready to pierce the attackers heart. He turns around and punches Gloss right in the temple, disorienting him a bit, giving Peeta time to run to collect his sword. It all happens so quickly, and I miss. The arrow sticks in his arm, but he ignores it and jumps on Peeta, driving the dagger once through his chest and once through his back. I start screaming in anger and fire another arrow, and this time it hits Gloss in the chest, who falls to the ground with Peeta and rolls into the water. I drop the sheath to the floor and run as fast as my feet will go over to where Peeta is.

My heart stops. The paradisiacal state I was in has disappeared completely, leaving an anxious wreck in its place. My legs start trembling out of control as I run.

"PEETA!" I scream. I stumble on my knees and crawl to where he is lying. The blood has spilled out of him so quickly that I'm already swimming in it. It's warm. I put my arms under his back and pull him onto my lap.

"No!" I scream again. The tears are pouring out of my eyes un-controllably and the strong metallic smell of blood fills my nostrils. I take my hands and rest them on his chest. The wounds are deep. Both of them. The dagger is still lodged in his back and the tip is peaking out of his chest. I push it down with my finger. It doesn't budge so I push it harder, making my fingers bleed. It begins to move backwards and I reach under his back and pull on the handle, gently pulling the dagger out of him. He groans in pain as it leaves his body and I throw it into the water. "Katniss, don't go."

"I'm right here. Your okay, your okay." I say, even though I know he's not. I stroke his blonde locks, to try to stop my hands shaking.

"I-I can stand up. Let me...stand-" he says, trying to get up but as soon as he lifts his head, he yells out in pain and falls back down.

"I'm… s-so sorry. I'm so…so. This is my fault!" My lips are quivering. "Katniss. Listen to me." He says breathing so heavily and quickly. "Never blame yourself. You're a beautiful, strong clever girl. You're my girl." He looks beautiful even on his death bed.

"I love you." He lifts his hand and strokes my cheek. I grab it and hold it to my face.

"No, you're going to be okay. Were going to be fine."

He laughs sweetly with all the energy he has but ends up wincing. "I'm not okay."

"Peeta! Don't say that! Your going to be alright!" I cry again. He shuts his eyes and I can see his bloody pierced chest move up and down quickly. "Peeta, please. Don't leave me." My voice is so blocked with tears. "I won't." He says. He groans again and cries out in pain as he does so. I stroke his hair, as it's the only thing I can do to ease his pain. His breathing slows. "Promise me one thing… Katniss?" He looks up at me with those eyes. Those eyes that make me weak at the knees, that make me want to cry. I look straight back at them, tilting my head over his so he doesn't have to strain "Anything." I say.

"Your family needs you. Just… promise me you'll try to win? For them, and for me." He says.

"I promise." I mouth.

I lean down and kiss his soft lips. As I do so, one million moments surge through me. The first time I ever laid eyes on him twelve years ago, the way he saved my life, more than once, the long nights of holing each other on the train, his warmth and the security I felt in his arms, the first time I felt these lips, up until the last time. I also think of the future. In an ideal world, Peeta and I at the altar. Me, in a white dress with a pregnant belly. A house somewhere in that far off world where there is no Capitol. Where we can watch our grandchildren playing outside. As I pull away from him, I realize I do love him. I love him. I love Peeta Mellark. It isn't for show, or to prove our love to the district or for sponsors. It's for us. Peeta and I. How we feel about each other and us wanting to spend out last moments alive together.

"I love you." I whisper.

I can see the slight smile creep on his face, followed by a silver tear that trickles out of his eye and drips off of his chin. "I love you too."

He looks me straight in the eyes. One of my tears drips down from my nose and lands on his cheek. Were staring into each other's eyes, like we have so many times. I press his hand against my face. Barely audible, I whisper, "Stay with me?" He says, "Always."

Then, his eyes flutter shut. His breathing slows down every second. I take my other hand and place it on his chest. It moves up and down rhythmically, with a slowing pulse. After about a minute, his chest stops moving and his breathing slows to a still.

I hold his hand, not wanting to let go. The tears have welled up in my eyes so much.

"P-peeta?" I say. But there is no reply. I put my trembling hand to his mouth hoping to feel air, but there is nothing.

"No." I say. "No! Peeta! No!" I shake him again and again, but nothing happens. I know nothing will happen, but I don't know what else to do. I lift my head up to see if anyone is coming. "Someone, help!" I yell, but only silence answers. "Help...please!" My eyes scan around but there is no one. Only me, all alone. "Please don't leave me!" I drop my head on his blood stained chest and cry.

"Stay with me! You said always!"

My hand meets his and I wrap my fingers around his. My whole body slumps into him, and I remember all those nights on the train when he held me close, so close that I could feel his breath on my chest. Now, all these moments are frozen, just as he is. I cry into his body and lift his arm over me, wrapping myself in him. It's as if we as hugging. "Please don't leave me." I whimper into his body.

I lay here for a while. Crying into a cold and lifeless Peeta. After about ten minutes, I hear the beating of wings in the distance. As it gets closer, the sound crescendos. I look up over his arm to see a hovercraft flying straight towards us. At first I'm a little confused, but then I realise they are coming to get Peeta. "No...no!" I scream and scramble on all fours towards the cornucopia, dragging Peeta with me. When the claw comes out of the hovercraft I throw myself on him, and wrap my arms and legs around his body. I put my face close to his and study it close. "I love you Peeta!" I say and kiss his lips for the very last time. I bury my face in his neck and scream as I feel us being lifted into the air. The claw tilts, and I begin to slip. They have strapped Peeta's wrists to the claw automatically, but I am a loose end. As it tilts forward, I slide down his body. "No!" I scream and claw at his waist as I slip down. I manage to clamber my way back up and wrap my arms around my neck. But as an electric taser comes down from the hovercraft, I know I won't be able to hold on forever. I get one last look of his face, before the taser electrocutes me. A painful shot of electricity runs through me, burning me and causing me to let go of very nerve that I control. As a result, I let go of Peeta as well. Helplessly, he slips from my view and I fall down through the air, and land on my back on the rocks. The wind gets knocked right out of me and I struggle to breath for a minute. I watch, powerless as his body is taken away from me forever. "NO!" I scream at the sky, and another fit of crying hysteria comes. The claw reaches the hovercraft and Peeta is Snow inside. His dangling legs were the last thing I saw of him. My face falls into my hands, where they stay. "Goodbye Peeta." I whisper to myself, and carry on crying.

I've lost the boy with the bread.


End file.
